Sheffield office space take up on the rise

Take up of empty office space in Sheffield has more than doubled in recent months.

Figures released by the council’s Inward Investment Team revealed more than 305, 000 sq ft of office space has been taken up across the city in the first six months of 2015.

This is up from 140, 000 sq ft in the same period in 2014 and represents an increase of more than 100 per cent.

Of the 54 deals completed so far this year, the most notable include The University of Sheffield taking over 65, 000 sq ft at Velocity in Solly Street, XLN Telecom, who moved to the city in 2014 and expanded earlier this year by a further 14, 000 sq ft at North Bank, and Sky Bet recently opening a new 6000 sq ft office at Electric Works.

Councillor Leigh Bramall, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for business, skills and development, said: “Seeing these levels of office activity in the first half of the year is testament to Sheffield’s winning business proposition.

“A core part of our appeal is having a dedicated team in Invest Sheffield.

“A specialist unit that is business savvy, commercially connected and with expert local knowledge, supporting Sheffield’s economic growth and attracting new business in the North.”

Peter Whiteley, partner at commercial estate agents Knight Frank, added: “This is great news for Sheffield. The level of demand shows that Sheffield continues to be a successful business location for growing companies.

“We hope that with new developments such as 3 St Paul’s Place underway and major refurbishments taking place we will continue to attract new companies.”